Awards given to criminal justice professionals

Judge Alexander honored for work

CHAD SMITHchad.smith@staugustine.com

Published Sunday, June 14, 2009

Even with brownies and ice cream, an awards luncheon for a group of local criminal justice professionals Friday was bittersweet considering it was effectively the last day for St. Augustine's juvenile detention center.

Circuit Judges John M. Alexander and J. Michael Traynor were both given awards by the local chapter of the Florida Council on Crime and Delinquency and, after getting their plaques, both took a moment to say they were "sad" the center is closing.

"I sure wish -- and you can quote me on this -- I really wish the Department of Juvenile Justice in Tallahassee would practice collaboration like they preach it," Alexander said after getting the chapter's judicial award.

The 50-bed St. Johns Regional Juvenile Detention Center will be closed June 30 and, after that, will house a 34-bed, privately run medium-risk residential juvenile facility -- the equivalent to an adult prison -- and a 16-bed extension to the high-risk facility already in the complex.

Karen McNeal, the center's superintendent and the chapter's president, said starting Friday, St. Johns County youth would no longer be booked into her facility, located behind the jail on Avenue D.

Instead, they will be held in Jacksonville as they await trial.

The employees will all be offered jobs within the Department of Juvenile Justice, but they might be a few counties away.

The department has said it is closing the St. Augustine facility because it has a growing need for residential facilities, where juveniles are sent after being sentenced by a judge. Since the facility is considered "state of the art," DJJ is closing an older medium-risk facility in the Panhandle, moving it to St. Augustine and expanding the existing high-risk center.

McNeal, who has been in charge of the center for eight of its nine years, said her facility was consistently ranked among the best -- if not the best -- in the state, making the department's decision all the more confusing.

From the mental health services to the food, everything was rated highly, she said.

Alexander and Traynor said the facility's staff and the services they provide make it a valuable commodity for the community and part of the reason there is relatively low recidivism among local youth.

"We do more with less," Alexander said, begrudging the fact that on June 30, there will be even less to work with.

Circuit Judge John M. Alexander speaks during an awards luncheon for the local chapter of the Florida Council on Crime and Delinquency on Friday at Cortesse's Bistro after chapter Treasurer Renee Stauffacher, right, presented him with the judicial award. By CHAD SMITH, chad.smith@staugustine.com